So we are on the move again.
We will be moving to a rental in Rolla for a couple of years, so I’m busy packing again. It does have a yard, but since it will not be an “owned” yard, I’ll likely be limited to pot garden for the duration of the time that we’re there. So my current focus is on harvesting the last bits of this year’s garden and packing, packing, packing.

I spotted this beauty while watering a couple days ago:

The drought here has devastated everyone’s yard and most of the trees are going dormant/dropping leaves already. Our neighbor lost multiple oaks that had started to succumb to oak wilt earlier in the summer; the drought just finished them off faster. The other neighbor’s sprinklers run 24/7 it seems. I’d hate to see their water bill! Ours is usually only about $30 a month, this past month it was $142!!! And I don’t even water the yard, just the outside plants and the garden. It hasn’t really rained at all though since early July. We’ve even had to start picking and choosing where we go to get in the river, the places where the water doesn’t run heavily are getting stagnant and full of massive amounts of algae bloom. Perfect conditions for nasty stuff to be growing in it.

Danny has been canning a few of our last cucumbers, making dill and bread and butter pickles. The tomatoes are still trickling in. The one good thing about a drought is I haven’t had to mow in a month. I’d just be moving dust around if I did!

In other news, the new house only allows so many pets. We’ve been lucky in that we had the space to keep all of our animals to this point, but now we need to rehome kitties. If you or someone you know has a barn or outbuilding in need of a mouser, please send me or Danny a PM on Facebook ASAP. The shelters are so full that they have an intake freeze on cats and a very long waiting list for dogs.

The tortoiseshell kitty is Daisy Mae. She’s not a super social cat with people, but gets along with dogs and tolerates other cats. She is an excellent mouser and would love a space in a barn where she can just hole up, do her thing and hunt. She’s been a garage cat most of the time we’ve had her. She’s about 10 years old. She’s been spayed.
The goofy boy in the tuxedo on the right is Steve. He’s been cooped up in a house for a year and HATES it. He was originally an outside kitty and loves to hunt mice and voles. He would MUCH prefer to be outside. He will come for pets on occasion and my daughter can hold him, but he’s very much about the hunt and go go go. Not sure on his age, he got dumped off at our barn when we lived on the farm. He has been neutered.

Please share these guys with your friends and family if they have a space for them! My daughter loves these cats and would like to know that they have a place to go where they can be happy and safe. I’ll share this post on Dirt’s Facebook page, you can send me a PM there if you’re interested.

Ok, time to get pack to packing. We’ll be shaking off some dust soon!

-B